New security camp set up in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur by police and BSF

Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh), May 3 (PTI) A new security camp has been set up in a strategically important location in the Naxalite-hit Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh to address security vacuum and facilitate development works, police said on Saturday.

The 'Suraksha evam Jan Suvidha Camp' (security and public facility camp) was jointly established by the Chhattisgarh police and the Border Security Force (BSF) in Pangud village under Sonpur police station limits in Abujhmaad on April 29, they said.

It will be a company operated base (COB) of the BSF's 129th battalion. With this, 14 new security camps have been set up in the district so far this year, they said.

The facility is aimed at intensifying anti-Naxal operations in the area and facilitate road construction work from Sonpur-Dhodhribeda-Maspur-Horadi-Garpa-Kandulnar-Pangud villages to Kongen-Sitaram-Maroda villages, thereby connecting the interior areas to the mainstream, a senior police official here said.

Under the state government's 'Niyad Nellanar' (your good village) scheme aimed at facilitating development works in remote villages located in the close vicinity of the camp, roads, water, bridges, education, medical, mobile network connectivity and other basic facilities will be expanded in the surrounding area of Pangud, he said.

This camp will also help to ensure security for construction of a crucial road connecting Kondagaon-Narayanpur via Abujhmad to Sitaram and then Maharashtra, he said.

After establishing the camp, Narayanpur district Police and BSF organised a day-long community policing camp in Pangud which was attended by more than 200 villagers from Pangud, Koge, Sitaram, Binagunda, Koronaar and Wala, he said.

"The villagers told the police that they will not support Naxalism and will cooperate in development works. They also demanded basic facilities like electricity, tap water, education, health, roads etc, which were assured to be fulfilled soon," he said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has frequently underlined the government's resolve to eradicate Naxalism by March 2026.

Notably, anti-Naxalite operations intensified in Chhattisgarh after the BJP came to power in 2023. Security forces have gunned down more than 350 Naxalites in a string of encounters, mostly centred in the Bastar region, since last January.

So far this year, 145 Naxalites have been gunned down in separate encounters in the state. Of these, 128 were eliminated in the Bastar division comprising seven districts, including Narayanpur. PTI COR TKP NP